No criminal case planned in soldier's electrocution

WASHINGTON - No criminal charges will be filed against military contractor KBR Inc. in the electrocution of a Green Beret soldier who died while showering in his barracks in Iraq, the Defense Department said yesterday.

There is "insufficient evidence to prove or disprove" that anyone was criminally culpable in the January 2008 death of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, 24, of Pittsburgh, investigators said. The uproar over his death triggered widespread inspections and a review of 17 other electrocutions in Iraq.

Maseth's death at first was ruled an accident. Later, an Army investigator called it negligent homicide caused by KBR and two of its supervisors and said KBR failed to ensure that qualified electricians and plumbers worked on the building where Maseth died, according to an internal document obtained by the Associated Press.

Yesterday, the Defense Department said that although both contractors and government employees "breached their respective duties of care," the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command determined that none of the breaches alone were "the proximate cause of his death."

Army criminal investigators concurred that the manner of death was accidental.

Maseth's mother, Cheryl Harris, said the findings were heartbreaking and disappointing. According to the command, she said, "there were so many failures on KBR's part that they couldn't assign all of the blame to any one person and therefore told us they were not going to file charges."

The family has sued KBR.

Last week, the Defense Department inspector general said Maseth died when he came in contact with an energized metal shower and hose caused by the failure of an ungrounded rooftop water pump that KBR installed.

The inspector general said KBR did not ground equipment during installation or report improperly grounded equipment during routine maintenance, nor did it have standard operating procedures for inspections.

But the inspector general also said military commanders and key decision-makers failed to ensure that renovations and maintenance were properly performed.

KBR, based in Houston, has said it informed the military of the lack of grounding and bonding in the structure where Maseth died nine months before his death.

Heather Browne, a KBR spokeswoman, said by e-mail that the company was pleased with the findings.

Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) said he did not accept the conclusion that there was insufficient evidence, saying: "No person, let alone an American serving his country, should step into a shower and die as a consequence."